Dookki (두끼)
One of my all-time favorite Korean snacks growing up was tteokbokki, or little rice cakes covered in a (usually) spicy sauce along with fish cakes.
Coming to Korea, this was one of the foods that I was most excited to try. I’ve always heard about how street vendors can be seen selling it everywhere, and how delicious it is in general compared to America. As our first stay in Korea was in the Hongdae area, Dookki was recommended by both friends and other locals as the place to go to.
Nestled on top of a staircase on the packed streets of Hongdae, Dookki is well-loved by the locals for its quality tteokbokki that comes at an amazing price. Dookki offers an all-you-can-eat menu for diners where one can customize the flavor and ingredients to their liking. All of this, including unlimited sodas, sauces, and fried sides, can be had for only around $9 USD (prices may change over time).
Sounds too good to be true right? Well, it’s 100% legit.
Walking in around lunchtime, we were seated right away and we noticed that each table had a large central pot for making the tteokbokki. Once at your table, the staff fills the bowl with a fish-based stock and explains that diners are able to choose their spiciness levels and the types of rice cakes to put in it, as well as any vegetables or other toppings if preferred. Settling on a mild level sauce (pictured above), we got our ingredients and mixed in ramen along with some vegetables to start with.
Within minutes the soup begins to boil and you are able to eat the rice cakes and vegetables soon after. The restaurant offers several different types of rice cakes ranging in size, color, and texture. All of them are very tasty and have a high-quality texture that isn’t overly chewy nor mushy. As for the sauce itself, while the mild version pictured can be great for those who want nothing to do with spice, most people will want to mix in the spicier sauces later, which is exactly what we did. All of the other sauces also taste great, and we recommend you try them out.
As mentioned, we ended up adding vegetables such as enoki mushrooms, onions, and perilla leaves and it turned out amazing. The vegetables give the soup a deep and rich flavor, but also taste great on their own once cooked and steeped in the sauce. As a note, make sure not to get too much food at once, as Dookki does charge extra if you leave leftovers.
Another thing that I like about Dookki is the ability to eat your rice cakes with fried sides. These are the usual street food items such as tempura, fried sweet potatoes, and crispy seaweed rolls, to name a few. These are also unlimited in quantity and you can get separate sauces to pair with them. The fried items are delicious and remind me exactly of the offerings found at some of the street vendors literally across the street from the restaurant.
Once you’re finished with the rice cakes, you can ask the staff to add rice to the leftover soup for free to make a sort of “after meal” that is popular in some Korean restaurants. In addition, they offer free ice cream for dessert to cool down your palate once you're done with everything. However, we enjoyed the rice cakes too much and stuffed ourselves, so we decided to skip the rice and ice cream this time around.
So, if you are looking for a fun and inexpensive tteokbokki joint for you and your friends, look no further. As a gem of the Hongdae neighborhood, Dookki is sure to satisfy your cravings along with your wallet.
